RCMI Research Capacity Core

SUMMARY – RESEARCH CAPACITY CORE The RCMI Cancer and Health Disparities Research Center will enhance the quality and productivity of Xavier’s basic biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research in the focus area of cancer and health disparities by establishing a Research Capacity Core (RCC) that will have health informatics and data analytic resources, shared instrumentation, therapeutic development core facilities, and cell and molecular biology facilities. The proposed RCC build on the previous Research Infrastructure Core laboratories that served Xavier investigators and helped enhanced the research capacity in the last U54 cycle. Based on the assessment of strengths and weaknesses in the current research portfolio of Xavier investigators, the RCC will expand core resources and implement new rules of prioritization, improved standard operation procedures, and more effective management of core facilities including convergence of cross disciplinary expertise and cost recovery systems. To maximally benefit Xavier investigators across all health-related research areas that are being pursued, the RCC proposes the following specific aims to accomplish the overarching goal of enhancing Xavier’s research competitiveness. In Aim 1, we will expand and sustain core facilities and resources for Xavier researchers. Addressing Xavier’s research community needs and challenges, the RCC will expand a Data Science core resource to provide services in big data analytics, social and behavioral data analysis, bioinformatics and multi-omics analysis, biostatistics, statistical analysis that can be utilized. The RCC will maintain previously established core resources including Major Instrumentation facilities, Therapeutic Development resources, and Cell and Molecular Biology core facilities that have provided essential instrumental and technical support to Xavier’s biomedical research projects. To sustain these core facilities and resources, the RCC will implement a stratified and effective cost recovery program and leverage institutional commitment for the maintenance and operation of the core facilities. In specific aim 2, we will enhance core services in research methodology, specialized laboratory techniques, statistics, bioinformatics and health informatics. The RCC will expand the faculty expertise group (FEG) to include two additional data scientists to support behavioral and clinical research projects. The FEG will consist of senior faculty members with research expertise in experimental design and research strategy on drug discovery and formulation, cell and molecular biology, mechanistic investigations, and data processing using various bioinformatics and biostatistics tools, and analytical instrumentation. The proposed RCC will further prioritize and streamline the services to better meet the needs of Xavier’s research community. The RCC will have two core directors who will lead the faculty expertise group while also serving as FEG members. The FEG will be charged with core management, service prioritization, and provision of consulting services in research methodology development, specialized laboratory techniques, statistics, bioinformatics and health informatics.